On December 3rd, Cure Alzheimer’s Fund’s Rudy Tanzi took part in a panel discussion on breakthrough science at the Partnering for Cures meeting.

Partnering for Cures brought together philanthropy, medical research foundations, and the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in an effort to create collaborations for the development of new medical solutions.

The panel discussed the vital role philanthropic investment plays in supporting breakthrough science and Dr. Tanzi’s presentation echoed this sentiment, thanking Cure Alzheimer’s Fund for its support of the Alzheimer’s Genome Project!

Dr. Tanzi’s presentation focused on the importance of genetics and genomics in the search for a cure. He emphasized that technological advances are improving the understanding of the genetic mechanism that controls Alzheimer’s disease and are making it possible to identify the complete set of genes influencing risk for this devastating disease. Tanzi emphasized that the more authentic disease-related genes we identify, the more rapidly and accurately we will be able to predict the probability of the disease in each person, detect the beginnings of pathology and prevent or delay it from taking hold, and treat it successfully in those who have already been stricken.

The panel also included presentations from: James Greenwood, President and CEO of BIO; Mara Aspinall, President and CEO of On-Q-ity; Stephen Friend, President, CEO and Co-Founder of Sage Bionetworks; Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Medical Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; and Garry Neil, Corporate Vice President of Johnson & Johnson.

Want to learn more? Click on the link below to watch the complete panel discussion:

http://www.partneringforcures.org/descriptions/breakthrough.html